Of the 10 most affected countries and territories (1998–2017), eight were developing countries in the low-income or lower-middle income country group, one was classified as an upper-middle income country (Dominica) and one an advanced economy generating high income (Puerto Rico).

Back in 2017, Bangladesh’s climate risk was ranked at 9th while 13th in 2016.

According to the report, massive rainfalls have led to floods across Nepal, Bangladesh and India, which affected more than 40 million people.

Some 1,200 people lost their lives in these three countries and millions were displaced throughout the region.

The floods spread across the foothills of the Himalayas and brought landslides leaving tens of thousands of houses and vast areas of farmland and roads destroyed.

Puerto Rico, Sri Lanka and Dominica were at the top of the list of the most affected countries in 2017.

Between 1998 and 2017, Puerto Rico, Honduras and Myanmar were the countries most affected by extreme weather events.

Altogether, more than 5,26,000 people died as a direct result of more than 11,500 extreme weather events; and losses between 1998 and 2017 amounted to around US$ 3.47 trillion (in Purchasing Power Parities).

Recent science has found a clear link between climate change and record-breaking precipitation of 2017’s hurricanes.

It also suggests that the number of severe tropical cyclones will increase with every tenth of a degree in global average temperature rise.

In many cases, single exceptional disasters have such a strong impact that the countries and territories concerned are also ranked high in the long-term index.

Over the last few years another category of countries has been gaining relevance – countries like Haiti, the Philippines and Pakistan that are recurrently affected by catastrophes continuously rank among the most affected countries both in the long-term index and in the index for the respective year.

The Climate Summit in Katowice should adopt the ‘rulebook’ needed for the implementation of the Paris Agreement, including the global adaptation goal and adaptation communication guidelines, said the report.

Furthermore, COP24 must increase efforts to properly address loss and damage, which appears as a cross-cutting issue referenced throughout various negotiation streams, with significant risk of being omitted from final negotiation text, reads the report.

The risks of future climate-related losses and damages are far too severe to simply function as a negotiation chip.

The most recent data available — for 2017 and from 1998 to 2017 — were taken into account. The countries and territories affected most in 2017 were Puerto Rico, Sri Lanka as well as Dominica.

For the period from 1998 to 2017 Puerto Rico, Honduras and Myanmar rank highest.

This year’s 14th edition of the analysis reconfirms earlier results of the Climate Risk Index: less developed countries are generally more affected than industrialised countries.

Regarding future climate change, the Climate Risk Index may serve as a red flag for already existing vulnerability that may further increase in regions where extreme events will become more frequent or more severe due to climate change.